Project Server 2010 upgrade overview
Applies to: Project Server 2010
Topic Last Modified: 2011-09-10
This article contains an overview of how to upgrade to Microsoft Project Server 2010 from an earlier version of Project Server.
Important
Upgrading from the Project Server 2010 public Beta to the Project Server 2010 release version is explicitly blocked and not supported. This restriction applies to both the in-place and database-attach upgrade methods.
Note
Migrating Microsoft Office Project Portfolio Server 2007 data to Project Server 2010 is not covered in this document. For more information, see the model titled "Project Portfolio Server to Project Server 2010 Paths and Considerations" (PPS to PS2010 Migration Model.vsd).
Upgrade methods
You can upgrade to Project Server 2010 through two basic methods:
Database-attach upgrade
In-place upgrade
Database-attach upgrade
A database attach upgrade lets you "attach" restored copies of your Office Project Server 2007 databases to a new Project Server 2010 installation. Office Project Server 2007 farm databases are backed up and restored on Microsoft SQL Server, and the new Project Server 2010 farm points to these restored databases when the Microsoft Project Web App instance is created. When you connect to the databases from the new Project Server 2010 instance, the databases are upgraded to Project Server 2010.
There are two variations of the database attach upgrade:
Database attach full: Upgrades the four Office Project Server 2007 databases and the content database that contains the Project Web App site data.
Database attach core: Upgrades the four Office Project Server 2007 databases only.
A database-attach upgrade is required in two scenarios:
When you are migrating from a Office Project Server 2007 farm installed in a Windows Server 32-bit environment.
When you are migrating from a Office Project Server 2007 farm installed on a Virtual Migration Environment (VME).
Note
For more information about the VME, see The Virtual Migration Environment (VME) in this article.
The advantage of doing a database attach upgrade is minimal downtime, because your Office Project Server 2007 farm can remain functional during the upgrade.
The disadvantages of doing a database-attach upgrade are as follows:
Server and farm settings are not upgraded and must be manually transferred if you want to preserve them from your old farm to your new one.
Any customizations must also be transferred and upgraded manually. Any missing customizations may cause unintended loss of functionality or problems for users.
You must budget for additional hardware on which to install Project Server 2010 and the required 64-bit Windows Server 2008 operating system.
For detailed instructions that describe how to use the database-attach methods to migrate from Office Project Server 2007 to Project Server 2010 see:
In-place upgrade
An in-place upgrade lets you install Project Server 2010 on the same hardware as your Office Project Server 2007 installation, and then migrate the content and settings in your server farm as part of a single process.
Important
The Office Project Server 2007 installation that you are upgrading from must be running on a Windows Server 2008 64-bit operating system for you to do an in-place upgrade. Project Server 2010 is a 64-bit application, and it must be installed on a Windows Server 2008 64-bit operating system (Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows Server 2008 with SP2).
The advantages of doing an in-place upgrade are as follows:
The upgrade can occur on the same computer.
Farm-wide settings are preserved and migrated.
Customizations are available in the environment after the upgrade process, although manual steps may be necessary to upgrade or rework them.
The disadvantages of doing an in place upgrade are as follows:
It can only be performed if Office Project Server 2007 is installed on a Windows Server 2008 64-bit operating system.
Project Server will be inactive during the upgrade, unlike a database attach upgrade, in which Office Project Server 2007 will be active during the upgrade because you are upgrading a copy of the Office Project Server 2007 farm databases.
Important
An in place upgrade makes your Office Project Server 2007 installation permanently inoperative. You must make sure that you have a valid recovery plan in case the upgrade fails.
The scenario where an in-place upgrade would be most useful is one in which you are already running Office Project Server 2007 in a Windows Server 2008 64-bit environment.
For detailed instructions on how to use the in-place upgrade method to upgrade from Office Project Server 2007 to Project Server 2010 see In-place upgrade to Project Server 2010.
Migrating from Project Server 2003 to Project Server 2010
An additional migration path to Project Server 2010 is available from Microsoft Office Project Server 2003. The migration process can migrate your project data and, if it is required, your Project Workspace data. Migrating your data from Project Server 2003 is a two-step process:
Migrate from Project Server 2003 to Office Project Server 2007
Migrate from Office Project Server 2007 to Project Server 2010
Note that when we refer to upgrading from Project Server 2003, it is known as a "migration" process. In the traditional sense, upgrading from an earlier version is often thought of as an "in-place" process in which the application's binaries and data are upgraded from the earlier version to a newer version. For example, upgrading from Office Project Server 2007 to Project Server 2010 can be done through an in-place process. In contrast, upgrading from Project Server 2003 is a data migration process. In this process, Office Project Server 2007 is installed first (on the same computer as the earlier version of Project Server or on a different one). Then the Project Server 2003 data is migrated. There is no actual upgrade of the binaries when you are "upgrading" from Project Server 2003.
For more information about how to migrate from Project Server 2003, see Upgrade to Project Server 2010 from Project Server 2003.
Step 1: Migrating your data to Project Server 2007
When migrating from Project Server 2003 to Office Project Server 2007, there are two methods that you can use:
Standard migration: Install the Office Project Server 2007 environment manually and then migrate your data from Project Server 2003 to the new environment.
Virtual Migration Environment: Install the Virtual Migration Environment (VME) Hyper-V image (that contains your Office Project Server 2007 environment) to a Windows Server 2008 computer that is running Hyper-V, and migrate your data to the VME.
Both methods will produce the Office Project Server 2007 databases that contain your upgraded data, and optionally your project workspace data that is contained in a SharePoint Server content database. These will be required for the second step in the process: upgrading to Project Server 2010.
Step 2: Migrating your data from Project Server 2007 to Project Server 2010
The second half of this process requires you to migrate your data to Project Server 2010. There are three options, all mentioned previously:
Database-attach full upgrade: This option migrates your project data and your project workspace data. We recommend this option when you have to upgrade both.
Database-attach core upgrade: This option only migrates your project data. We recommend this option if you do not have to migrate your project workspace data.
In-place upgrade to Project Server 2010: This option upgrades your data and Office Project Server 2007 settings on the existing server. This option is available only to you if you migrated your data to a Office Project Server 2007 deployment on a Windows Server 2008 64-bit platform. You cannot use an in-place upgrade when you are using the VME.
For more information about how to migrate from Project Server 2003 to Project Server 2010, see Upgrade to Project Server 2010 from Project Server 2003.
The Virtual Migration Environment (VME)
The Virtual Migration Environment (VME) is a fully configured Office Project Server 2007 with SP2 environment packaged as a Hyper-V image. The VME can be run as a stand-alone environment for the sole purpose of migrating Microsoft Office Project Server 2003 data to the Office Project Server 2007 data format.
The VME was built to enable Project Server 2003 customers with a way to migrate to Project Server 2010 without having to set up an intermediate Office Project Server 2007 environment. The VME does not have to be added to your existing network, and the Project Server 2003 data can be added to the VME by using an external hard disk drive.
The VME image contains the following:
Office Project Server 2007 with SP2
Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 with Service Pack 2 (SP2)
Microsoft Office Project Professional 2007 with Service Pack 2
SQL scripts that have been developed to find potential upgrade issues.
Windows Server 2003 Release 2
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Enterprise Edition
Office Project Server 2007 with SP2
The VME will be available for download on the Upgrade and Migration Resource Center for Microsoft Project Server 2010 around the product release date.
Backwards Compatibility Mode (BCM)
Backwards Compatibility Mode (BCM) is a feature in Project Server 2010 that assists in the upgrade of your Enterprise Project Management environment. Project Server 2010 accepts connections from the Microsoft Project Professional 2010 client, but it can also accept connections from Microsoft Office Project Professional 2007 with Service Pack 2 (SP2) if BCM is enabled in Project Server 2010. BCM is enabled automatically after you upgrade to Project Server 2010. By enabling BCM after you upgrade from Office Project Server 2007 to Project Server 2010, you avoid having to upgrade your Office Project Professional 2007 client computers at the same time. Because Project Server 2010 accepts connections from both Office Project Professional 2007 SP2 and Project Professional 2010 clients when BCM is enabled, you can decide to upgrade your clients later, and in batches (running in a mixed environment), if you want. When you have finished upgrading the clients to Project Professional 2010, you can turn off BCM in Project Server 2010 server settings, which will then allow for only Project Professional 2010 connections.
Important
Once BCM is disabled, it cannot be re-enabled. Verify that you want to disable BCM if you are going to make the change.
Important
Before you disable BCM, verify that all projects are checked in. If any projects are checked out when BCM is disabled, mismatched projects may exist (for example, the checked out projects will remain in compatibility mode). Projects in this condition can lead to problems with edits and data loss, and can cause Project Professional 2010 to stop responding.
Note
Microsoft Office Project Professional 2003 cannot connect to Project Server 2010, even if BCM is enabled.
To disable Backward Compatibility Mode
On the Project Server 2010 home page, click Server Settings.
On the Server Settings page, in the Operational Policies section, click Additional Settings.
On the Additional Settings page, in the Project 2007 Compatibility Mode section, clear the Enable Project 2007 Compatibility Mode check box.
Click OK.
After making the change, you must check out and open the Enterprise Global file in Microsoft Project Professional 2010. In the Enterprise Global file, make a very minor change (for example, dragging the splitter bar on the screen), save the file, and then check it back in. This is required to upgrade the Enterprise Global file to the newer version of the Microsoft Project Professional client.
Important
The Enterprise Global file must be upgraded to the Project Professional 2010 client after BCM is disabled. This ensures that all new projects will be in native mode with all Project Professional 2010 features enabled. (All new projects are based on the Enterprise Global file). This also ensures that workflow will function correctly.
We recommend that BCM only be enabled as a temporary measure to help in the upgrade process. When Project Server 2010 is configured in Backwards Compatibility Mode, Project Professional 2010 clients that connect with Project Server 2010 have certain features that are disabled. These include the following:
Manually scheduled tasks are not available on the server or client.
Tasks cannot be set to inactive.
Font strikethrough is not available.
All departmental custom fields are enforced in Office Project Professional 2007.
Workflow-controlled custom fields are available as read-only.
All new features that are available in Project Professional 2010 (for example, Timeline, Team Planner, 32-bit colors) are available to Project Professional 2010 users, but not to Office Project Professional 2007 SP2 users.
Office Project Professional 2007 SP2 connecting to Project Server 2010 in BCM mode is blocked from providing functionality that requires loading a Project Web App page in the client. This includes doing approvals and opening enterprise resources. As a workaround, you can use Project Web App on a Web browser to do these functions until you are ready to upgrade to Project Professional 2010.
Additionally, workflow-controlled custom fields are not available in Office Project Professional 2007 SP2.
Note
Project Web App access to Project Server 2010 requires that you use either Windows Internet Explorer 7 or Windows Internet Explorer 8 as your Web browser. For more information, see Plan browser support (Project Server 2010).